"It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One" is the 17th episode of the fifth season of the animated comedy series Family Guy. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 13, 2007. The episode features Lois as she runs for Mayor of Quahog against incumbent Mayor Adam West, once she notices how polluted the local lake has become. Lois is elected as mayor and successfully cleans the lake, but quickly succumbs when the toxic-dump owner pressures her to let him resume dumping toxins into the lake.
The episode was directed by Zac Moncrief and written by cast member Alex Borstein, whose script was based on a one-woman show she had previously written that served as a tribute to Hillary Clinton; Borstein later wrote a novelization of the episode in collaboration with fellow series writer Cherry Chevapravatdumrong. It received mixed reviews from critics for its storyline and many cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 7.21 million homes in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Jeff Bergman, Gary Cole, Jackson Douglas, Keith Ferguson, Carrie Fisher, Masam Holden, Don Most, Gary Newman, Keith Olbermann, and Fred Tatasciore, along with several of the series' recurring guest-voice actors.
Plot
The Griffin family decides to take a vacation at Quagmire's cabin at Lake Quahog. When they go swimming in the lake, they discover that an oil refinery is dumping toxic waste into it; as they flee the lake, their hair falls out, forcing them to wear powdered wigs until it grows back. Lois complains to Mayor Adam West, who admits that he sanctioned the dumping in exchange for free hair oil. Outraged at West’s deliberate act of corruption, Lois decides to run against him in the upcoming mayoral election. Peter and his friends become strong supporters of Lois' campaign, realizing that they'd be able to get away with almost everything, should she become mayor. But Lois' campaign soon falters, as Mayor West proves more politically savvy. While Lois bores voters with detailed plans to improve the city, Mayor West uses glittering generalities and statements completely unrelated to the questions posed to him. Following Brian's advice to give short, simple answers, Lois resorts to similar tactics, dropping controversial terms such as "Jesus" and "9/11" in meaningless ways. She eventually gains the populace's support and wins the election.
After taking office, Lois attempts to propose a tax raise, though when this fails, begins to use fear tactics to raise funds to clean up the lake. Her efforts are successful, and life returns to the clean lake. She even has leftover cash afterwards, so she embezzles $600 to purchase a purse, much to Brian's disappointment. Peter has also succumbed to the perks of being the mayor's husband: he has rerouted the town's electrical system and caused rolling blackouts to bring late comedian Jim Varney back from the dead (he does nothing but talk, playing his character Ernest, and repeatedly refer to "Vern".) He then remembers he actually wanted John Belushi and takes Varney outside to shoot him, only for Varney to end up taking the gun from him and Peter running away from him warning Brian. Later, Lois is tempted to buy a $4,300 fur coat, and Bob Grossbeard, president of the local oil company, offers to buy it for her if she will allow him to dump his oil runoff in the lake. Lois reluctantly accepts his offer, but as the opening of the new runoff pipe begins, Lois realizes the error of her ways and closes the valve to the pipe and resigns her position as mayor, stating that she was consumed by money and power, which led her to become the very same things she set out to destroy.
West declares himself mayor again, but a random bystander points out that he has no jurisdiction to do so, and that the city has to have a whole new election to decide who gets to be the mayor of Quahog. This prompts West to pull out a gun and shoot him, as well as two others whom he believes objected.
